ANC reiterates position on Moroccan illegal occupation of Western Sahara and calls on UN to assume its responsibilities in the settlement of the conflict

SPS23/11/2019 - 09:51

Pretoria (South Africa) 23 November 2019 (SPS)- The African National Congress (ANC), the rulling party in South Africa, issued an urgent release on Tuesday 19 November, reiterating its “principled position” regarding the Moroccan illegal occupation of Western Sahara, calling on the UN “to assume its legal and moral responsibility” in the resolution of this last conflict of decolonization in Africa.

The Press release issued by the Secretary General of the ANC, Ace Magashule, indicated that “the longstanding principled position of the ANC with regards to Morocco, and it's illegal occupation of the Western Sahara, and the brutal repression of the Saharawi people, as well as the ANC's support for the Polisario Front, is well established.”

He recalled that “this principled position was re-affirmed by a supporting Resolution condemning Morocco for its illegal occupation of the Western Sahara at the 54th National Conference of the ANC,” which took place from the 16th to the 20th December 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The ANC 54th National Conference International Relations Resolution No. 27, inter alia, condemned Morocco: “for having withdrawn from the UN-led peace process and supports the UN efforts to bring both parties back to the negotiating table”. It stated that “the ANC should engage with a wide range of players to ensure that the proposed UN Referendum in Western Sahara takes place”.

Furthermore, "the ANC urged the international community and the United Nations, in particular, to assume without further delay, their legal and moral responsibility on granting respect to the inalienable right for self-determination of the people of Western Sahara”, the press release adds.

Finally, “the ANC once again reiterates its principled support for the people of the Western Sahara, and reaffirms our call to Morocco to immediately end its illegal and brutal occupation of the Western Sahara,” the press release of which SPS received a copy concludes. (SPS)